Big City vs Small Town
by enjoyingtheread
Summary: Greg and Morgan head out of town to help out with a small town murder. What they find, frustrates them beyond belief. The crime scene will test them as evidence is missing but new evidence comes to light. A little Morganders as well, of course.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N. The crime from this story happened near me. The issues with the actual evidence in the real case were incorporated into this story.**

"Just the people I was looking for." Announced Catherine cheerfully as she walked into Greg and Morgan's shared office. "How do you feel about Gabbs?"

"Casino?" Asked Morgan, looking up from her paperwork and putting her pen down. "I haven't heard of that casino before."

"Nope. Gabbs, Nevada." Catherine paused, seeing the confused frown on Morgan's face. "The town and surrounding area has a population of one thousand and thirty. Plus two CSI's." She smiled, handing Greg a file folder. "The actual population of Gabbs is a couple hundred residents. It's a small town, about four hours north of here." She paused as she watched Greg open the file folder and take out a piece of paper. "The area has a local sheriff and a few deputies. However, when there is a big problem, Las Vegas Police, or in this case, the crime lab is dispatched to help them out. Technically they are still in Clark County."

"Murder and attempted suicide." Read Greg from the file folder. "It sounds pretty cut and dry."

"You and Morgan are the only two not working on hot cases right now. I know I'm asking you to pull a double, but I need you to both go home, pack enough stuff for a day or so and head up there to process the crime scene." Catherine looked from one CSI to the other.

"Road trip. Could be fun." Shrugged Morgan, grinning at Greg. She pulled back from her chair and stood up. "Get packing, Sanders."

An hour later Morgan was rummaging under her sink, searching for her large travel toiletry bag. As she located it, her cell phone rang. Wondering who it could be, she fished it out of her pocket and looked at the caller ID. It was her father. Surprised he was still awake at this late hour, she pressed the talk button.

"Hi Dad, what's up?" she said, cradling the phone between her ear and shoulder as she started packing her toiletries.

"Just wondering how packing is going?" Conrad Ecklie replied. "What do you think about heading northward for a few days?"

"It'll be something different, but the case doesn't look too difficult."

Morgan half listened to her father rattle on about an old case he had investigated in a remote town as she continued to pack her suitcase.

"Are you going to be okay with Greg?" Her father said, changing the subject abruptly and bringing Morgan's full attention back to her father.

"Why wouldn't I?" Morgan scrunched up her face in confusion. "Greg and I work together all of the time."

"Yeah," Said Ecklie slowly. "but it's a little different going so far away with someone. If Greg gets inappropriate, let me know."

Annoyed that her father would imply something out of character for Greg, Morgan scolded her father. "If it were me and another female going together, would you worry about that?" She argued. "We've been on plenty of cases alone together and he has never been inappropriate."

"That's good to hear." Was Ecklie's quick reply.

Morgan rolled her eyes at her father's out of character warning. She finished her conversion by promising her father she'd be careful. She returned to her bedroom to finish packing. Now that she'd had a few minutes to think about her father's odd statement about Greg, she smiled father's insinuation that Greg may get inappropriate with her. Sure they were kind of flirty with each other, but neither of them crossed any boundaries.

As Morgan opened a drawer to choose a pair of pajama's to pack, an image of Greg smiling down at her popped into her mind. It had been at the beginning of the week. The two were in the garage, working side by side. He was holding a new forensics toy a company had loaned the lab and was droning on about it in great detail. Morgan had interrupted him asked if there was going to be a test at the end of the lecture. He'd given her a sarcastic, "Ha Ha." But then he had turned to her and smiled. She hadn't noticed it then, but tonight she remembered his brown eyes and smirk he had given her. Her stomach fluttered, thinking about that smile.

"Great, thanks for putting ideas in my head, Dad." She said aloud, as she slammed her small suitcase shut and reached for the zipper.

Once on the road with Greg, Morgan had quickly forgotten all about what her father had said. She was focusing on what Greg had managed to find out about the new case in the short time since they'd left the forensics lab.

"Have you ever heard of Gabbs, Nevada?" Asked Morgan.

"I don't believe I have." Greg admitted. "But I did a quick Wikipedia search before I left the history of Gabbs basically follows the story of most of the little towns around Nevada. Gabbs came to be when a Magnesium plant was built nearby. Times changed, the magnesium plant closed, population declined and now there are only two hundred and sixty nine occupants left."

"Two hundred and sixty eight now." Replied Morgan. "From what I read, the lone person killed was a sixteen year old girl. The male who was shot was around twenty five years old. I'm wondering if this is a lover's quarrel."

"The shooting happened at the injured male's house. There's really not much more we can go on until we get there and meet with the detective."

Morgan gave an involuntary yawn as she searched the horizon, the first peek of colour finally showing. "Did Catherine say where the department has booked us rooms to sleep?"

Greg nodded. "Yeah she did. Apparently the only hotel in the area burned to the ground a while ago and nobody bothered to rebuild it."

"We're sleeping in the car?" Morgan said, looking at Greg suspiciously.

"No. Lucky for us, the local town sheriff is putting us up at his place. It's kind of unorthodox, but I guess it beats the alternative."

"Sleeping in the car?"

"No, commuting four hours each way."

Morgan grunted. "Well, this town seems to be getting smaller by the day. The next decent coffee shop you see, you'd better pull off the highway and get me a massive cup of coffee. I don't want to be drinking local swill."

"Is Morgan Brody too good for a small town?" Greg looked over at Morgan who was frowning in the passenger seat.

"I live in Vegas for a reason." She replied with a shrug. "I like the big city amenities."

The sun rose as Greg and Morgan amused each other with stories from their childhood. As the car turned off the highway and onto the main road leading to the small town, the two stopped talking and looked around at their temporary home base. It was a stereotypical shabby, forgotten little town. It looked like a movie set for a Western. A few small buildings still had wooden frames, although sun and age had weathered the wood greatly. Some buildings had fresh coats of paint, while others had dull, weather faded exteriors. There were some small businesses dotted along the main street, the odd car passing by in the other direction.

"There's your coffee place." Greg pointed to a small diner attached to a small gas station with a pair of gas pumps standing proudly out front.

Morgan's eyes followed Greg's outstretched hand and looked over at the small town diner. Surprisingly it reminded Morgan of Franks' restaurant in Las Vegas. The big difference was an old fashioned wooden sign hanging sign on the boulevard, proclaiming "Lou's Lunch."

Greg continued to follow the GPS instructions and turned onto the road where the crime scene was located . In the near distance they could see a gathering of people. A small crowd had gathered around the police tape, cornering off the small, sun faded white trailer where the crime had taken place. Almost in unison, the crowd heard the Denali coming down the street and they turned to watch Greg slowly drive down the street towards the police tape. A Police officer shooed a few people out of a dirt area on the side of the road and pointed for Greg to park.

"Everyone is watching, I see." Remarked Morgan quietly, as she surveyed the people still watching the Denali. "Small town entertainment." She shook her head.

"We get the same thing in Vegas." replied Greg. "Small or large towns, people are curious."

As the two CSI's opened the trunk of the Denali, a tall, thin man came walking over. He immediately introduced himself as the lead police officer, Albert Lang. Welcoming them to Gabbs, he immediately launched into a clearly practiced speech.

"We have a deceased female in the premises behind me." Officer Lang, turned and motioned to the mobile home behind him. "The male has been transported to the nearest hospital that can handle his injuries. The EMT's were able to provide lifesaving care in the ambulance. We have received word back that he is in stable condition. He is currently undergoing surgery to repair his jaw. If there is anything else you require, please let me know and I'll be happy to help you."

Greg and Morgan gave each other a brief glance before thanking the young officer and moving towards the mobile home. After a careful documentation of the perimeter, Greg and Morgan walked up the small porch and entered the mobile home. They walked over the threshold, getting their first look at the interior. It was a small home. To the right of the entrance was the living room and to the left was the kitchen, the only way to know one from the other was the dividing line of carpet and linoleum. The home was decorated in typical youth fashion, posters of rock bands on the walls and beer cans haphazardly placed on the small wooden table in the kitchen. Looking around, Greg stepped into the living room, taking note of the blood trail from the living room to the kitchen.

"Found the victim. She's behind the couch." Greg pointed over at couch, facing a small electric fireplace, and above the fireplace, a flat screen TV was mounted on the wall.

Tentatively, Officer Lang stepped into the house. "The Male was shot in the head." He said, standing awkwardly in the foyer, unsure if he should step further into the room.

"Were there just two people in the room at the time of the shooting?" Asked Greg. "There are a lot of beer cans in the kitchen. Was there a party happening when the female was shot?"

"No sir," said Officer Lang, "Just a few kids hanging out on a Tuesday night."

"How many people live in this house?" Asked Morgan, as took photographs of the deceased woman, crumpled on the floor, blood pooled around the head.

"The male shooting victim, Nathan Dobson and Martin Smith both rent the place." The Officer replied, still staying safely in the doorway. "Martin is the one who found the bodies. He ran down the street to his parent's house and got his mom. She was the one who called 911. Smith seems pretty shook up. I haven't got much from him. He's pretty distraught."

"Thanks for your help." Replied Greg. Turning to Morgan he said, "Are you ready to do a walk around?"

"Yeah."

They carefully made their way to the far side of the living room, avoiding blood droplets dotted along the floor. They both moved to where the deceased female laid, crumpled on the floor. Looking up to the couch, Greg pointed to a spray of blood on the couch.

"I guess this is where Nathan Dobson tried to shoot himself. There is a significant blood event on that spot."

Morgan walked over to the couch and crouched, studying the blood on the ground. She followed the trail of blood, starting at the large pool on the floor, and moving alongside the smaller puddles and then finally, drops as Nathan had made his way from the couch to the kitchen sink.

"Directionality indicates that Nathan was walking to the kitchen after he shot himself." Morgan called to Greg as she walked over to the kitchen sink. The sink had large, deep blood drops dotting the bottom and splattered along the sides.

"All blood here indicates gravitational drops." Morgan said.

"Oh, Martin's mother came into the kitchen and tried to help Nathan." Supplied the detective from the door. "She gave him a towel to put on his wound."

"How many people have been in here after the murder?" Greg turned around and looked at the Officer. "Would you be able to provide us with a list of people? We need everyone, including paramedics. We'll have to get shoe impressions as well."

"Sure thing! I'll go do that right now." Said Officer Lang, seeming grateful for something to do as he turned around and left the house.

"With small town cases, the evidence tends to be a little more compromised because of inexperience in proper police protocol." Greg said quietly as he came to stand beside Morgan. "It may provide a bit of a problem as we go to court. We'll have to document as much as we can. Unfortunately, getting here about seven hours after the murder, lets a lot of doubt to be cast on our evidence in court."

"Yeah." Agreed Morgan. "There could have been a lot of unintentional evidence tampering. Let's just processes this scene as quickly as possible and then we can speak with the detectives and paramedics."


	2. Chapter 2

"So it looks like there may have been a fight of some sort." Greg pointed to a laptop computer on the floor, face up but its screen clearly cracked. He bent down to examine it some more. "There are a few keys missing from the keyboard and it looks like there was music playing and it had stopped when the computer was thrown." Greg touched the enter key of the keyboard with his gloved hand. Instantly, the heavy Metal sounds of Metallica's Enter Sandman filled the air. Greg quickly pressed the key again, pausing the music.

Morgan shook her head and laughed, before turning back to the crime scene.

"The gun is here, on the couch. That's consistent with Nathan Dobson shooting himself. It looks like it would be within arms reach." She paused for a second, thinking. "But if you have just tried to commit suicide and it didn't work, why not try again? He was obviously not injured enough to be incapacitated, judging from his journey to the sink."

"Could be shock." Greg replied. "But something does seem off. Lets go find Officer Lang and see if he can give us a more thorough retelling of the events."

They walked out into the bright sunshine and found Lang, sitting in his squad car, door open and writing on his notepad. The Officer looked up nervously as the two CSI's closed in on him.

"Excuse me, Officer Lang." Said Morgan, as Officer Lang stood up. "We have a few questions about the events of last night. Would you be able to walk us through as much as you know? No detail is too small."

The Officer nodded."Yeah, I can do that." He said, nodding his head again as he looked up at the sky, trying to recall as much as he remembered.

"At approximately ten pm, a 911 call came into dispatch that there had been a shooting at this residence. The caller was Martin Smith's mother. Apparently Martin had come in to the house and found the deceased female. Her name is Sheila Keller. He also found Nathan Dobson bleeding from a gunshot wound. He ran down a few houses and fetched his mom. She came over and helped Nathan to the sink and got him a towel. She then called 911 from the premises. The police and paramedics came, taking Nathan to the hospital. The female was pronounced dead at the scene. "

"Where was Martin at the time of the murders?" Asked Morgan.

"I do not believe he has been asked. We are having difficulty getting him to talk. He is pretty shook up."

"Where are Martin and his mother right now?" Asked Greg.

"At the police station."

"We are going to finish up here and I need to process Martin and his mother for any evidence. Can you ensure that they have not had a chance to go home or dispose of their clothing? " Greg paused. "I think it is too late to get gunshot residue off of them. Surely they have washed their hands by now. " Officer Lang grabbed his phone from his suit pocket and started dialing.

Morgan walked over to Greg. "We also need to get the clothing from Nathan. I'll go to the hospital and gather the evidence from him now." Greg nodded to Morgan and handed the vehicle keys to her.

"I'll finish processing here and will get the evidence to the local police department." He nodded a quick goodbye as Morgan left.

Greg finished processing the scene, loaded the evidence in Officer Lang's squad car and the two of them drove back to the small police station located just off the main road. On the way there, the young officer filled Greg in on being a police officer in a small town.

"There are a few officers that work the area. It's a large area, with small settlements here and there. I live in Luning, about forty five minutes away. This is my first murder that I've worked on since I've been on the force. We usually have smaller cases, such as robberies." The Officer looked over at Greg. "My first case as a detective was actually the motel fire."

"What happened with that anyway?" Asked Greg.

"A few kids rented a room to try to make meth. Lets just say it didn't go to well."

"Wow." Said Greg. "Small town like this, and they were trying to do something that sophisticated in plain view?"

"Oh yeah, kids are the same wherever you go. Sometimes they just don't have the forethought. But it is good for you though. Instead of the old motel, you get to stay at the Sheriff's house. He and his wife are just the nicest people. The wife is a fantastic cook." Greg listened with amusement as the Detective rambled on about the Sheriff's wife and her cooking as the officer pulled into a small restaurant.

"Are you hungry?" Asked the Officer. "Decent take out here."

After a quick lunch, Greg spent the next little while putting the evidence in a small office and then touched base with the Las Vegas Police Department. He was just finishing up the call when Officer Lang came back into the room. Greg noticed the worried frown on his face as the Officer shut the door behind him.

"Is everything okay?" Asked Greg, suddenly worried about Morgan. He hadn't heard from her since she left. A warning chill ran through his body.

"Well," Said Officer Lang pausing. "I was just down in our little interrogation room, listening to Martin and his mother. I think there is more to the story than what I've heard. I was speaking with another officer and it sounds as though Martin may be more involved than I'd originally heard. Apparently when the responding officers arrived at the house, they put Martin and his mom in a squad car to secure the scene. Martin was heard repeatedly muttering, "I can't believe what I've done."

Greg's eyebrows shot up. "I'm just hearing this now? Did anyone do a basic GSR test on Martin or his mom when they came to PD?"

The officer shook his head. "I went down and asked. Apparently nobody thought of it." He shook his head. "Small town. We really don't get these kind of things happening here."

Greg shook his own head. Great. He thought. Something's not right here. All officers go through basic crime scene training and retraining. I'm having a hard time believing that story. Immediately he fished his phone out of his pocket to call Morgan. Suddenly he really wanted to speak to her.

"Brody." Came the clipped tone as she answered the phone.

"Where are you?" Greg practically growled.

"What's going on? What happened?" She could hear the frustration in Greg's voice.

"We've had a few issues pop up here, but I haven't heard from you in a while and was getting worried. Did you manage to get Nathan's clothes?"

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line, just long enough to inform Greg that she did not get the clothing.

"Greg" She paused and took a quick breath. "It was all gone." She paused again. "Everything."

"What do you mean, everything? Did you check in the ambulance bay? Did you check the emergency room?" He barked, more frustrated at the way this case was turning out than at Morgan.

"Greg, I followed the route the ambulance took. The ambulance driver said he gave all clothing to the ER. I went into the ER and they said the ambulance drivers never gave it to them. I have torn apart not only the ambulance, but the ambulance bay and where they sanitize the ambulance. I have scoured the ER and then I went up to the Operating Floor and scoured there. I found absolutely nothing. Literally not a stitch of clothing." Morgan was talking at a fast speed, mirroring Greg's frustration. "The whole bloody staff were really accommodating and some even helped me search, but I found nothing at all."

Greg sighed. His report about this case was going to be a mess. "Well things aren't much better here. Meet me at the police station and I'll fill you in."

Just over an hour later, Morgan arrived at the police station, finding Greg in the small office that would double as their temporary work space as well as evidence locker. She walked in, handing him a lukewarm coffee in a Styrofoam take out cup.

"I stopped for a quick coffee, figured you'd need one as well. What's going on here?"

Greg filled Morgan in on the new developments regarding Martin Smith's possible confession.

Morgan stood up and walked over to the door of the small room, shutting it. She walked back over to her chair, sitting down heavily. She was silent for a few seconds. Leaning closer, she whispered, "Do you think people are not telling us something?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure. It's either that or it really is a small town with an inexperienced police force. I'm not sure which one to believe."

"I'm going to go out on a limb and start with the cliche. Is Martin part of one of the prominent local families?"

Greg shook his head. "Nope, his parents live near the poverty line as ranchers. Nathan's family is the same way. As for the female. It was only Sheila and her mom. Sheila's mom worked at a Magnesium plant until it closed down. They are on public assistance. Sheila was still in high school"

He lowered his voice and continued speaking. "I went and processed Martin and his mom. The mom's story hasn't changed at all, but now Martin says he was hanging out with the two of them for about thirty minutes before the shooting."

Morgan's eyes widened. "But that changes everything! Martin could be the shooter!"

"Yeah." Greg agreed shortly. "The police never treated him as a suspect until I started asking questions. He was even allowed to go home before coming to the police station to give a statement. I've questioned him and have taken GSR tests of his hands and clothing. Too much time has passed. Any GSR trace will be explained away in court. The only good thing about the lack of GSR evidence is that it would probably not be prevalent anyway. The two had a small collection of guns on the premises. I found a small gun locker in a closet. Apparently they liked to go to a small makeshift shooting range in the desert. They had gone shooting earlier in the day."

Morgan moaned and rubbed her hands over her eyes. "This is brutal."

Greg just shook his head. "We just have to follow the evidence. Which means we have to get as much as possible. I have asked Catherine for a warrant to get cell phone records from the three of them. In the meanwhile, we can start to do our preliminary crime scene notes and tomorrow someone will be coming up to collect all of our evidence and bring it back to the Lab. Catherine wants us to stay here until we she can get a warrant for Martin's parents' car as well as speak with Nathan in hospital."

The two worked until early evening, until Greg's cell phone rang. Looking over at it, he was puzzled by the number he didn't recognize.

"Sanders." He said cautiously.

"Oh, hello!" came a friendly female voice from the other end. "My name is Carol, the Sheriff's wife. You two are staying at our place for the next day or so. I was just starting to make dinner and I was wondering if the two of you be able to join us."

Surprised, Greg relayed the message to Morgan. She gave an affirmative nod.

"Morgan and I would like that very much." Greg talked for a minute longer before finishing up the call.

"We'll be having lasagna." He said to Morgan with a smile. "Officer Lang told me she was quite a good cook."

"I've eaten nothing but coffee and a stale bagel from some diner on my way back from that hospital. Lasagna sounds great." Morgan paused and leaned in, "But with all the local weirdness going on, you don't think she's trying to poison us, do you?"

Greg looked pensive. "I hope not. But with this case, I can't be 100% sure."

Greg and Morgan had no trouble finding their temporary evening headquarters and at six pm sharp. A woman who looked an awfully similar to Martha Stewart opened the door with a nervous smile. When she looked at Morgan, her smile dipped briefly, worry dancing over her eyes suddenly. She ushered the two of them in.

"I'm Greg Sanders." Said Greg, extending his hand. "This is Morgan Brody." Carol shook their hands with that same worried smile. Morgan noted that Carol was literally wringing her hands in some sort of distress.

"It's wonderful to meet you both. We don't get company much up in Gabbs. I am so happy to have you two in my home." Carol smiled but then her smile dipped. "But, um, I'm afraid I've made a little error."


	3. Chapter 3

Greg and Morgan glanced at each other warily. Now what?

"When I heard two CSI's were coming, I assumed Morgan was a male." She shot a nervous glance to Morgan. "I'll have to do some juggling with sleeping arrangements. We have a little self contained apartment type room that our two boys use when on break from college. It has two beds in it. But my husband and I can take the couch and I can give one of you our room. When the kids left, we remodeled the entire top floor of the house to make one large bedroom." Carol continued to ramble on.

"Oh, don't go to any trouble." Interrupted Morgan. "Greg and I have been up for over twenty four hours straight. I"m sure we'll both just crash as soon as we hit the beds. Don't worry about it." Morgan looked over at Greg.

"She's right. Don't go to any trouble. We'll be fine."

Carol breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Oh thank goodness. Come on and I'll show you to your room then."

The two followed her down the hall until she opened a door and walked through. Morgan followed, wondering what she had gotten the two of them into. Morgan looked around. The room was a lot bigger than she thought. It was separated into two distinct areas by some carefully placed furniture. There were two twin beds, each pushed against a wall. A night stand stood between them with a dresser in the middle. Further down, a Chinese screen separated the bedroom area from a couch, coffee table and large flat screen television hanging on the wall. An open door beside the television showed a washroom with a large tub.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Morgan, genuinely surprised. "This is fine. We'll just move the Chinese screen between the beds and it won't be a problem at all."

Beside her, Greg shrugged, seemingly unfazed.

After cleaning up, the two joined Carol and the Sheriff for dinner, followed by a huge slice of chocolate cake, much to Morgan's delight. After dessert, the two began to feel the lack of sleep creeping up on them. They said their thank you to to Carol and the Sheriff and headed to their room.

Once inside, Greg looked at Morgan. "Do you want to go have a shower first? I'll give Catherine a quick call and update her."

She nodded but then paused for a second. "Maybe we shouldn't tell her about our sleeping arrangements. I'd hate for this to become office gossip."

Greg nodded in understanding. "I won't say anything."

When Morgan stepped out of the bathroom, she was dressed in an old shirt and a pair of shorts. Greg gave her a quick once over.

Morgan arched an eyebrow. "What? Did you think I slept in some slinky night gown?"

"No." Greg shook his head, laughing. "But I hoped you did!"

She swatted him on the arm as she walked past him.

Exhaustion set in as Greg finished his shower. The extremely long day had caught up to him. Clad in a pair of gym shorts and an old t shirt, he opened the bathroom door and stepped out into their shared room. He didn't even notice that Morgan had moved the divider into the center of the room, between the twin beds. He just located the empty bed, crawled in and fell fast asleep.

Greg awoke to sun streaming through the bright windows, despite the blinds being drawn. As a a night shift worker, he had blackout curtains in his own bedroom. These were definitely not blackout curtains. It took him a few seconds to remember that he and Morgan were in Gabbs, Nevada. He blinked as the realization that they were sharing a room came back to him. He looked over, past the dividing screen and could just see Morgan's blond hair fanned out on the pillow. Judging from the lack of movement, she was still fast asleep. Quietly, he got out of bed and headed towards his suitcase he had put on the couch.

As he picked out his clothes, he heard a rustling sound behind him. He turned to find Morgan sitting up in bed, disheveled hair and and a confused look on her face. She stared at him oddly just long enough for him to start to feel uncomfortable. He looked down to his bare chest then back at her. Crap, I didn't put my T-shirt back on. Greg normally slept without a shirt, but put one on last night to make Morgan feel comfortable. He'd taken it off once he got in bed, but didn't put it back on in the morning.

Morgan smirked at Greg, trying to hide the fact she was enjoying watching a shirtless Greg. "Yeah, we really need to be careful that nobody finds out that we've been sharing a room. If Hodges heard about this..." She didn't finish her sentence.

Greg laughed. "I'm more worried about your father finding out. I'd like to keep my job."

Greg spent the morning at the small police station working with Officer Lang on developing a timeline of events and the whereabouts of the three people in the hours leading up to the shooting. The warrant for the cellphones had come in and Morgan spent her morning in the small office, reading texts and gathering an electronic timeline from the data. Greg came in just before lunch to update Morgan on what he had learned.

"Well, I haven't learned anything new." Greg pulled out a chair from the table and sat down heavily. "The three hung around together and none of the three have a history of violence and none of their friends thought any of them were acting strange in the time leading up to the murders."

"I have something." replied Morgan, eyes gleaming. "I've looked at the text messages between the three of them. Sheila had been intimate with both men- sometimes at the same time."

This caught Greg's attention. "Well, that brings up a whole new set of motives."

"Sheila had been texting the boys that she didn't want to come and 'hang out' anymore because they just want to have sex with her. " Morgan paused to let this new information sink in. "About twenty minutes before the 911 call, she actually texts Martin and writes that she thinks Martin is more into Nathan than her."

"What was Martin's reply?" Asked Greg, leaning forward.

"His reply was only, Nope but then she replies back, you totally are, don't lie. Martin's last text is, I'm about to leave. That is the last text. Sheila is dead minutes later."

"So now we're looking at a love triangle gone bad?" Greg leaned back in his chair.

"It's a new angle. It makes me want to look at Martin Smith a little closer."

The two took a break and headed to Lou's Lunch for a bite to eat. As Greg held the diner door open for Morgan, he saw a few heads turn to look at the strangers walking through the door. The two paused at the hostess stand and watched as those who saw the strangers, quietly filled in their dining companions. As the two were seated in a booth, they could feel people trying to subtly check out the out of towners.

The buzz of the diner started up again as the waitress set menu's in front of the two. She informed them politely of the house special and then left the two alone.

Instead of opening his menu, Greg reached for his cell phone and typed a quick text.

Morgan's phone beeped. Fishing it out of her pocket, she read Greg's text. We should probably not mention anything about the case. The three young people in the booth right behind you all have their ears literally turned this way.

Morgan texted back. Agreed.

The two chatted away after they placed their orders.

"So, I forgot to ask you." Began Morgan, finding a neutral subject to start up a conversation. "How was that date of yours a while ago? Someone had set you up with a girl."

Greg rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm still single. I'll put it that way."

Morgan smiled, "Sorry to hear that. She just wasn't your type?"

Greg sighed. "It wasn't that. I have no idea what kind of girl she was. I felt like I was being interviewed for a job. She asked me what I did for a living, what kind of car I drove, did I own a house." Greg paused and looked Morgan in the eye, "She actually asked me about my pension plan."

Morgan couldn't help but laugh at Greg's distressed face. "I'm sorry it didn't work out."

"It just seems that as I've gotten older, I really don't get to meet women that want to slowly start a relationship. They just seem to be interested in scoring some rich guy." He pointed at himself, tapping on his chest. "If you're looking for a rich guy, I'm not it."

"Actually, I think I have the perfect person for your bad date. The last guy I had a date with was the biggest show off. We met in a nice bar and right away, he told me he was wearing his Armani suit. Then he made sure I saw his wallet stuffed with cash as he paid for drinks. I then had to listen to him brag about how he was next in line for a promotion in his office." Morgan raised her hands in surrender. "I just want someone who I can be friends with. I don't want to fall in love with the size of someone's wallet. I want someone who talks to me about life and events and someone I can have fun with and just enjoy their company." I want someone like you. She thought. In all honesty, she wanted him, but she would never have the courage to say that out loud.

"Like us?' Asked Greg without thinking. His eyes widened as he realized what he'd implied. "Wait, I didn't mean it like that." Greg tried to backpedal, but Morgan interrupted him.

"I know what you meant, and Yeah." Replied Morgan, ignoring Greg's hidden meaning. She couldn't quite look him in the eyes, so she looked out the window, trying to come up with something else to say. Thankfully their plates arrived and they were distracted with their meals.

The afternoon was spent at the hospital Nathan Dobson was recuperating. Unfortunately, the drive out there proved to be as fruitless as Morgan's last visit.

"Do you really think that Nathan remembers nothing from that day, or is he hiding something?" Greg asked Morgan on the way back to Gabbs.

"He did get shot in the face, and he is now blind in one eye. That is some serious trauma." Replied Morgan. "But if he did shoot Sheila, would he want to admit it? He'd be facing a lot of jail time. Are you thinking he's letting the friend take the fall for him?"

"It wouldn't be the first time I'd seen it." Said Greg. "I just wish that we'd found his clothing. The amount of gun shot residue on his clothing would really help forensically. Hell, even the lack of gun shot residue would mean something. We always look to what the evidence tells us, but when evidence is destroyed, it means we have to find supporting evidence elsewhere."

"Greg, we've scoured that house. We've scoured Martin's mom's car. We've looked at computer and cell phone records. We got all of the evidence we were able to. Maybe Doc Robbins will find some trace on Sheila or some of the evidence that hasn't been processed yet may yield a clue." Morgan could see that this case was frustrating Greg.

Nodding his head in agreement, Greg added, "I guess I'm just annoyed. I really like to do as thorough job as possible. When I write this up in the report, there are going to be some glaring errors and inconsistencies that look bad on me as a CSI."

"Greg, you're great at your job but sometimes things are out of our control." She reached over and gave him a pat on his shoulder. "Let's just finish up here and we can go back to Vegas tomorrow." She paused with a smile, "I'll even take you out for a beer when we get back. We can enjoy being in the big city again."

"A beer sounds good. I'm going to take you up on that offer."


	4. Chapter 4

That night, the two of them were sitting on the couch in their temporary living quarters with the television on. A police show was on the screen, but neither were paying attention to it. They'd received the word from Catherine that they would be able to leave Gabbs in the morning.

"It is going to be difficult switching night and day again." Greg said. "It's now nine at night. I've been up all day and felt sluggish. Now I feel wide awake."

"Well we're normally getting ready to go to work at this time." Replied Morgan with a smile. "I'm sure you're not normally flaked out on the couch at night watching some crime drama on television."

Greg rolled his eyes. 'I get enough crime drama at work." He pointed to the TV as a high school student was giving the detective some serious snark. "When I was in high school, I'm certain I would have never spoken this way to someone in authority."

"What were you like in high school?" Morgan tilted her head and studied Greg. He was quite good looking and when she had arrived at the crime lab, Greg had a bit of a reputation as being a flirt. Someone had told her that Greg had quite an active dating life, but she rarely saw any evidence if it.

Greg flashed her a grin. "Well," he said slowly, "I had skipped a grade in elementary school so I was one year younger than the rest of my class. That was a massive strike against me. In the ninth grade, I was short, skinny and a know it all. It took me all four years of high school to finally make some headway with the ladies. What about you, Miss Brody?"

"Look at me, Greg. I'm in my thirites and still get ID'd at a bar. When I was sixteen, people thought I was 10. I was short and skinny and had no chest at all." She swiped a hand over her chest area, emphasizing what she was saying.

Automatically Greg's eyes dropped to look at her chest, admiring what he saw.

Morgan laughed as she snapped her fingers. Greg's eyes flew back to hers. "Sorry," He said guiltily, "I was just..." He searched for something to say. "You've filled out nicely." He finished lamely. Morgan laughed again and smacked his shoulder. "Sorry." He apologized.

"Don't worry about it." She smiled up at him.

Greg searched for a safer subject before he found himself in trouble. He asked her what clubs she belonged to in school and she answered cheerfully, letting him off the hook.

The next thing Greg noticed was the introduction music for the late show coming from the television. The conversation had been flowing between the two of them. He was shocked they still had things to talk about. Spending almost three full days with Morgan had gone better than he'd hoped. He'd always enjoyed her company, but now he felt more confident that they were compatible. Maybe he should ask her out one day when they get back to Las Vegas. His crush on her was pretty well known around the lab, but he found it hard to read Morgan. From the way she sat facing him on the couch, eyes sparkling and laughing, he was beginning to hope that she may finally be seeing him as more than just a co worker.

Turning his attention back to Morgan, he watched her stifle a yawn. "Sorry." She said with a shrug.

He smiled again. "Well, lets get ready for bed. Once we get up tomorrow we can get out of here and head back home."

Morgan nodded. "By the way, I'm driving home. And I'm also stopping at the first Starbucks I see."

The next morning the two CSI's were up in decent time, ready to head back to Las Vegas. Their suitcases were packed and Morgan was just putting her hair in a pony tail at the dresser. Greg was at the bookshelf, looking at the books and videos as he waited.

"Anything good?" Morgan asked.

"They seem to like action movies. No chick flicks for you."

Morgan came over to stand beside him. She gazed at the items on the small bookshelf. The top shelf was filled with trophies and sports memorabilia. Leaning against the side of the bookshelf, beside a an autographed baseball was a smoke detector, red light unblinking.

"I see the Sheriff takes his fire safety seriously." She laughed as she gestured to the smoke alarm. "Wouldn't want to see the entire Fast and Furious collection of DVD's burn in a fire."

Greg looked over at her. "Not a fan?

"Well, I liked looking at Paul Walker. Does that count?" She smiled mischievously.

Greg took out the DVD jacket of a Fast and Furious movie. He looked down at it, pointing to a picture of Paul Walker.

"So that's the type of guy you go for?" Greg said, not quite meeting Morgan's eye.

Morgan came over and looked over Greg's shoulder. "I like tall blonds, what can I say?"

With that comment, Greg found himself speechless.

Morgan elbowed Greg, intending to tell him to put the DVD back. But it caught Greg off guard. He took a step forward and stumbled into the shelving unit. The sporting memorbilia on the top shelf rocked and a few items, as well as the smoke detector came crashing down. Morgan caught the baseball, but Greg, still flustered, had let the smoke detector crash to the floor. Greg bent down to pick up the smoke detector, now in two pieces. He picked them up and held the piece holding the wires closer, inspecting it. The tiny red light, still blinking. His eyes grew wide as he brought the smoke detector closer to his face for further inspection.

"Morgan," he said slowly. "There is a hidden camera in here." 


	5. Chapter 5

He showed her the camera lens and then popped the front of the fake smoke detector back in place.

Morgan's eyes widened in horror as she stepped closer to examine the fake smoke detector herself.

Morgan hugged herself. "This is awful. I feel so violated!" She said loudly. "The camera was pointed at the beds."

The two stood in silence for a few more seconds while both contemplated the situation.

Finally, Morgan said in a soft voice. "Greg, I just want to go home."

He nodded slowly. "I will call Catherine now. We do have to talk to Cindy and the sheriff about it before we get out of here.

After calling Catherine and notifying her of the spy camera, Greg and Morgan searched the room for more hidden cameras or recording devices. Then they had to take their find to Cindy. They found her in the kitchen, putting a pile of fluffy pancakes on the table. She looked up and greeted the two of them with a big smile. Her smile faded instantly as she saw the look on the CSI's faces.

After an uncomfortable conversation with Cindy and the Sheriff, who were horrified at the spy camera and seemed to be unnerved. Greg and Morgan said a quick goodbye and thanked their hosts. They left them searching the rest of their house for any more hidden recording devices.

"I just want to get back to my own house." Morgan said as she sped down the highway. In the passenger seat Greg nodded in agreement.

"This hasn't really been a successful case." Greg sighed, the frustration still bothering him.

"I can't believe we were being watched the entire time." Cried Morgan, hitting the steering wheel with her right hand. "I really feel violated."

"I feel the same. I'm just glad there was no camera recording in the bathroom. It was just pointed to the beds. We will take the camera back to the lab, get it analyzed and find out who set it up and what happened to the footage." He shook his head in disgust.

"But now everyone in the lab will know we shared a room. There will be so much gossip." Morgan sat back in the driver's seat, rubbing her hand over her forehead.

"Morgan, nothing happened in that room. Besides, I'm betting that camera was not a high definition camera. It wouldn't have gotten a clear picture of anything. I think we should wait and see what Archie says after he looks at the camera and sees what the footage is." Greg paused for a second, searching for something to make Morgan feel better. "Why don't we stop for coffee at the next coffee shop?"

"I am not stopping until I see a Starbucks." said Morgan crossly.

Once back at CSI headquarters. The two unloaded their evidence and met Ecklie in his office at his request.

"I heard about the recording device. We take that very seriously here and need to look into it." Ecklie sat forward in his chair, arms resting on his desk.

"We will examine the recording device and find the people who have recorded any sensitive information." Conrad Ecklie paused, eyes going from one CSI to the other. Morgan was clearly still angry, arms crossed over her chest, leg crossed, foot tapping furiously. Greg kept sneaking worried looks at Morgan.

"As you know, this is part of an active investigation and only people who are a part of that investigation will be privy to the situation and what was recorded." Conrad stopped for a second. "I have to ask though. Is there anything on that tape that I should be made aware of before it comes back in a report?" He eyed the two CSI's sternly.

Greg and Morgan looked at each other and then shook their heads.

"Good. Now you two have tonight off. Go home, forget about Gabbs and we will see you tomorrow night." Ecklie ordered the two as he stood up, indicating the meeting was over.

Down in the parking garage, Greg walked Morgan over to her car. She didn't seem angry anymore, but Greg could tell she was still feeling bothered. He searched for something to say as they approached her car.

"Are you going to be okay?" he asked lamely, unable to think of anything better to say.

Morgan turned to face him. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at the ground.

"I guess I just feel really violated." She confessed. "I mean, I've worked on stalker cases before. I've investigated people who have been spied on. I've never put myself in those people's place before. I'm surprised how much it has bothered me.

"Even though we live in a city with an abundance of surveillance everywhere, and we really don't have an expectation of privacy, what happened to us is bothersome.

Still unable to look at Greg, Morgan nodded. "I just don't want to be a target of the office gossip. Even though this stuff is supposed to stay private, it never does. " Morgan took a deep breath and looked up at Greg.

"Hey." He said softly, moving a little closer. He started to reach his arm out to put on her shoulder, but thought better of it. "Yes we shared a room. Not a bed. It was a little unorthodox, but nothing happened. We even have the tape to prove it." He grinned down at her, hoping the joke would improve her mood.

Morgan gave a little laugh. "You're right. Thanks Greg." She paused for a second before continuing. "Maybe next time we share a room, things will be more interesting."

Greg was stunned. He was speechless as she gave him a smirk and got into her car. He barely managed a wave as she pulled out of her parking space and headed towards the exit.

Next time we share a room? The sentence ran though his mind as he headed to his own car, well aware of the goofy smile stretched across his face.

The next evening Greg and Morgan went directly to the AV lab to meet before the start of shift. Archie had texted them, telling them to stop in as soon as possible. The two found Archie seated at his usual spot, in front of a computer. He greeted them warmly as he ushered the two into his lab.

"I've got some really good news for the two of you." He said.

"The device wasn't recording?" Asked Morgan, hopefully.

"Well, not that good." Said Archie sadly. He turned to pick up a tray where the pieces of smoke detector lay. He picked up the camera and held it up.

"This was your basic low end, spy camera. Motion sensor recording and WiFi transmission. The WiFI transmission only had a few block radius. I turned the camera on and checked the IP address it was searching for. I did a simple search, found the owner and we got a warrant. I spoke to Officer Lang up in Gabbs. He served the warrant. Apparently it was some local kid. He was friends with the Sheriff's sons. One of the sons had brought a girl home and this kid thought it'd be funny to put a spy camera in the room. He forgot about it until he heard that there were two cops staying in the room. He turned the camera on for the heck of it."

Greg and Morgan exchanged relieved glances.

"Officer Lang drove the laptop up her himself and I came in early to view the footage and get it cataloged. I figured you guys would like to forget all about this."

"Thanks Archie. We definitely want to forget about it." Said Morgan, waiting for Archie to comment on the video footage itself.

"The quality of the video wasn't the best. It didn't capture much when the lights were out. It really only captured large movements, like getting out of bed." Archie smiled reassuringly at the two. "The worst part was when Greg had his shirt off the first morning. That was basically my report. And the fact that you two watched like two hours of television the last night you were there."

"Can I see the tape?" Asked Morgan.

"Sure." Archie pulled the tape up on the computer screen and pressed quick play. Morgan watched as the tape played on fast review. She could see the black and white image of the bedroom and herself and Greg walking around. Archie was right, the quality wasn't the best and their faces only came into focus if they were on the couch or closer to the camera. She watched the rest of the tape. She was worried about their long conversation on the couch, but while it was obvious the two were enjoying the conversation, it didn't look inappropriate at all. While she was glad, she was kind of disappointed. Did she imagine the connection she felt with Greg that night?

Greg snuck a glance at Morgan. She was still intently staring at the screen as the remaining portion of the tape played out. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah." She said after a short pause. "It still feels a little creepy though. How fast did it go through town that two CSI's were sharing a room at the Sheriff's house. It means he or his wife had to say something and it went around the entire town."

Just then Greg remembered their lunch at the town diner. His eyes widened. "Morgan,." He said slowly, "I think I know how they found out. Remember when we ate at that diner the one day and the entire town stopped and stared?"

Morgan nodded.

"I remember talking about our unusual arrangement before I noticed those kids at the next table eavesdropping. I'll bet it was one of those kids that did this."

"You're probably right. They caused a lot of grief." She turned to Archie. "Please keep this tape stuff quiet. I really don't want to become the target of office gossip."

"Morgan, this is part of an internal investigation so I can't say anything. I wouldn't even if I could." Archie looked at her sincerely, before continuing. "But if I were you, I'd play the tape for the entire shift. There have always been rumors about the two of you and this recording would certainly put a stop to it." He smiled.

Greg couldn't help but smile either.

Morgan on the other hand, rolled her eyes and left.

An hour later, Greg found himself heading to to the trace lab. He was not particularly looking forward to seeing if Hodges had found anything on the two boys clothing. He had a feeling that Hodges may be a little put out about the trip to Gabbs. It turned out Greg's hunch had been correct.

A cold and clipped Hodges barely greeted Greg. Hodges pulled out the case file and slapped it into Greg's outstretched hand. Greg sensed Hodges really wanted to say something but he wasn't going to stick around to give Hodges time to figure out a sentence. Greg just thanked him and headed towards the door. One step away from the door, Hodges growled out a, "Greg."

Smiling inwardly, Greg turned to face David Hodges. "Yes?"

Hodges quickly closed the gap between the two of them. He moved his face closer to Greg and lowered his voice. "I heard some things went on between you and Morgan up in Gabbs. You had better not have taken advantage of her." He growled.

"Check your sources, Hodges. You have obviously been eavesdropping and didn't get the entire story straight. Morgan and I went for work and we remained professional the entire time we were there." Greg paused before providing one parting shot. " I even have a recording to prove it." He raised his eyebrows at Hodges and walked out of the lab.

Three months later, in Morgan's apartment, the two were celebrating some good news from the Gabbs murder case. Sitting on her couch, she smiled as Greg handed her a beer before sitting beside her. He clinked his beer on hers and smiled.

"We were successful in getting enough evidence to go to trial. I'll take that as a victory."

Morgan smiled as she cuddled into him. "We did well for a compromised crime scene."

"Greatly compromised." Greg corrected her. "It was practically a cold crime scene." He paused as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "But I guess it did have its up side."

"You're darned right it had its upside. We got to spend some quality time together." She patted his leg. "Plus, we figured out we make a good team."

Greg nodded his head. "You can't win them all, but I'll put this one in the win column."  



End file.
